I love the Ledge's dark oatmeal stout ale, something my regular venue lacks. As a venue, it has a large bar area and an equal sized dining room where delicious food and specials are served every day from 4:30p onward. The Hemlock Ledge has a very Adirondack feel to its decoration and design, a casual family atmosphere that is warm, welcoming and comfortable. Occasional live events are held on Saturday nights, this was my first time seeing a band or filming there.
I hadn't seen Michelle perform in about a year, other than a few jams with other local bands here and there, so when I saw her Facebook announcement I decided to go check out this show. The duo have been performing locally for a year now, and I'm excited that I finally got to see them, and am looking forward to filming them again this year at summer festivals.
Brian plays his acoustic guitar like I have never seen done, kind of like classical guitar and piano applied to the strings, plus accompanies himself on a loop pedal which adds amazing depth to their sound. It's hard to remember this is a duo with no drums.
Michelle is one of, maybe even THE best, bass guitarists in the region. Add her passionate, sultry vocal talents and she's a force to be reckoned with. Beautiful and a little bit shy (except while performing), she's very friendly and writes her own music and lyrics (which I didn't get to hear last night). As a team, Brian and Michelle also create their own originals that I hope to get on film later this summer.
Featured in the video below, Michelle Howland really slaps the bass on this one, what an excellent cover with Brian Conway's fingers dancing all over his acoustic guitar & their harmonies hauntingly matched :)
